FAQs

Where is your beer distributed?

Spencer Brewery beers are distributed in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. domestically. Outside of the United States Spencer Brewery beers can be found in Belgium, China, France, Italy, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and Tokyo, Japan.

When will Spencer beers be distributed in my state?

Our goal is to eventually bring the beers of America’s only Trappist Brewery available in all 50 states. We are working strategically to gradually open up distribution in new states. Keep an eye on our social media pages for new distribution updates.

Do you ship your beer?

We work with our distribution partners to get our beers to consumers. We do not ship directly. On our website we have a Beer Finder which helps consumers find our beers in their local markets. If you are in an area where our beer is not distributed you may be able to purchase it online at Monasterygreetings.com or belgianstyleales.com.

Can I purchase Spencer beer at the St. Joseph’s Abbey Gift Shop?

Unfortunately, we are currently unable to sell beer at the Abbey Gift Shop. Instead, we invite you to locate a retailer near you using our Beer Finder, or plan your visit to the brewery on our one-day annual brewery Open House event. At this event, our beers will be available for sampling and purchase on-site. Follow our Facebook and Instagram pages for all our event updates.

Where can I buy Spencer Brewery merchandise?

Spencer Brewery merchandise can be purchased at the St. Joseph’s Abbey Gift Shop. Spencer Brewery glassware can also be purchase online through www.monasterygreetings.com. Profits from this merchandise go entirely to the support of our monastic community and our charitable outreach programs, helping us fulfill our mission every day.

What does it mean for a brewery to be Trappist?

Spencer Brewery is part of something much bigger and older than a mere beer company. We are just one endeavor of a Trappist monastery that produces beers, preserves, and vestures for sale to support ourselves and our monastery’s charitable outreach. As Trappists, we seek to live somewhat separate from the world so that we may engage fully with our monastic community life of work and prayer. This prayer encompasses liturgies open to the public, as well as our individual prayer time, spiritual reading, study and meditation. Our work extends to our care of guests at our small retreat house, hospitality at our gift shop, maintenance of grounds and buildings, beer, jelly and vesture production in our enterprises.

In order to be certified as a Trappist brewery, our facility must be located inside the Trappist monastic enclosure, as well as meeting all of the famously uncompromising standards of The Trappist brewing tradition and its governing bodies in Europe. The rich history of brewing as a monastic craft stretches back for more than 1,000 years, and we are delighted to be the newest part of that story as the first and only American brewery to be Certified Trappist.

Why do you not offer tours of the brewery?

We understand that brewery tours are very popular, and we are honored that you wish to visit.

However, the monastery and its grounds (which include the Spencer Brewery) are our home.

Ours is a full life of prayer and work, which we try to live oriented to God, and experience shows that a stream of visitors does dilute our focus and compromise the monastic ambience of our home and workplace.

We have no current plans to conduct regular brewery tours, but we do intend to continue hosting our one-day annual brewery Open House event. We announce this event months in advance on our website and social media pages, and our Brothers would be delighted to see you there.

When will the tasting room be open, and where can I sample Spencer beers in the meantime?

Our beers are crafted to be shared and enjoyed, so offering the chance to sample them is very important to us. The monks of St. Joseph’s Abbey have discussed a tasting room to showcase the beers they make at their Spencer Brewery. At this time the tasting room is in a research and development. While we work towards making the tasting room a reality, follow our social media pages for announcements and information about other Spencer sampling events and opportunities.

What is your annual output / how many barrels per year do you produce?

To date we have produced up to 4,500 barrels of beer annually. This is equivalent to approximately 60,000 cases of beer. We hope to grow gradually to approximately 10,000 barrels annual output. Maintaining our uncompromising Trappist brewing standards as we grow is, of course, absolutely essential.

What beers will you be making this year?

We currently have four beers that are available year-round. These beers are Spencer Trappist Ale, Monks’ Reserve Ale Quad, Premium Pilsner, and Monks’ IPA. We also have several seasonal beers that we release during the year for a limited time. Follow our social media pages, Facebook and Instagram, to see what we will be releasing and when.

Do all of your beers contain Belgian yeast?

Several of our beers undergo a secondary fermentation after they have been bottled, similar to the process used to produce champagne. These beers are produced with our Trappist family yeast.

We do produce several other beers that do not contain the Trappist family yeast. These beers are produced using yeasts proper to those beer styles.

Can you donate something to my charitable event?

We would love to hear more about your event, and if we can help in any way, we will. But first, we will need some more information. Head over to the Contact Us section of our website and fill out our web form. Tell us a little about yourself and your event and a brother will get back to you.

Can I have my wedding / special event at the brewery?

The brewery is located inside our Trappist monastic enclosure in an area that is not open to the public. Similarly, the monastery is a cloistered monastic community, and not a parish community. For this reason, we do not provide services for weddings, baptisms, and funerals.

Do you have any job openings?

We appreciate your interest. If and when we do have job openings, we post them on Brewbound, so check there for openings.

Do you offer internships at the brewery?

Thank you for your interest. We currently do not have any sales or brand ambassador internship openings at this time.